Unconventional Christmukkah
by forbesy
Summary: Like title suggests, will result in unconventional pairing. Will Kirstens Christmukkah party go to plan, with the help of Ryan...?
1. Default Chapter

First fanfic, hope you guys enjoy! I don't own any characters etc..

"Oh Christmukkah, oh Christmukkah!" Chanted Seth, as he paraded around the living room, adjusting each decoration slightly to the left, then back to the right again.  
"Dude, why don't you join me, the spirit of Christmukkah is shared by all in this house!" Ryan rolled his eyes to the roof, sighing as the doorbell chimed in. The Cohen's mini Christmas party was a new thing to them all, except for Kirsten who seemed to have been planning for it since the middle of summer. Rising slowly to his feet, he fiddled with his jacket as he strode across the room to allow the first guests in. The gentle pitter patter of feet coming down the stairs distracted him, turning to catch sight of Kirsten in a long, floaty baby blue dress, which hugged her figure perfectly.  
"Can you get that honey? I need to give Seth some jobs before he disappears like usual." She smiled excitedly at him and vanished from sight.  
"Uh, sure," he managed to reply to the empty room. Opening the door, he was greeted with almost half of Newport on the doorstep. He stepped aside and ushered them in, managing to pick up on comments from Julie Cooper-Nichols about 'the cost of their new furniture was just crazy, with it being shipped direct from Italy.' Some things never changed.

As he closed the door he turned round to be greeted with a hyperactive Seth.  
"Ryan, we need to bail out. Like, yesterday. Come on, Sum is gonna pick us up. Before Waspy grabs us and forces us to help out." Seth flung himself out the front door and started to run down the driveway, waving his arms at Ryan.  
"Come on, man!" Ryan found himself hesitating. He couldn't do a runner, it wouldn't be fair. Then again, this wasn't going to be a social event he would enjoy. Placing his hand on the door, he paused for a second. As he took a step towards freedom, he felt a warm hand land on top of his. Glancing round out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the blue dress again. "Not thinking of running off and leaving me to organise this myself were you?" She smiled coyly, her head tilted slightly to one side, as if to say that she knew exactly what he was thinking. He pushed the door shut and flicked his eyes across to her. "Course not. Just, uh, closing the door, since most people have arrived. So, how can I help?" His smile indicated defeat, and she nodded back to him.  
"Well first, you need to be Sandy and finish doing the back of this dress up before someone through there spots me." She spun round and brushed her silky blonde, straight hair aside. He took a step towards her and cautiously began to attempt at hooking the dress up. He was much more expert in undoing these, he thought. His fingers worked nimbly, occasionally grazing against her baby soft skin, until the job was complete.  
"Sorted," he announced. She turned and ran her hands down the sides of the dress.  
"How do I look?" She asked, a little nervously he observed. Grinning back, he replied,  
"You look…stunning." And she did. She always did, but even more so tonight.  
"Thanks sweetie. Come on then, til Sandy gets home from work, you need to stick around with me. And I know Seth has run off to Summer, he'll pay in the morning." She winked at him and slung her arm through his. And just at that moment, Ryan felt his heart skip a little with excitement.


	2. Working Late Again

The party was going swimmingly. The champagne was flowing, the music softly playing in the background, and the food was delicious. Ryan kept himself busy playing host; topping up half empty glasses and making polite conversation with anyone who cared enough to chat. Occasionally, Kirsten would sweep past him and grab his arm, taking him to speak with the influential people of Newport; those that maybe one day would be able to offer him a job. She gave him a glowing report at each person, praising his dedication and hard-working attitude. He smiled and looked down, around, away from eye contact each time.

He excused himself when the phone rang, expecting it to be Seth.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ry. It's Sandy," a tired voice announced down the line. "Listen, I'm gonna be stuck in the office all tonight. A work thing, you know?" He paused. "Can you tell Kirsten? I'll make it up to her; we just have to finish this case for tomorrow morning." Ryan sighed. This wasn't the first time this month that Sandy had forgone his family for work.

"Sure. But you're missin' a great party. See you tomorrow." He took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen, to be greeted unexpectedly with Kirsten leaning against the counter.

"He's at work again, and not coming home," she said softly. Her fingers gripped tightly to the edges of the counter and she sighed. Ryan nodded as he drifted over to her side.

"I'm sorry, Kirsten. But he says he'll make it up to you." The words he spoke were of little comfort, but he was only repeating the message. It ate away at him, every time that Sandy did something like this. Bit by bit he found himself losing respect and admiration for the man who had saved him from a life of hell. And he felt more compassion for the woman who had once wanted him out of her family's life. He peeled her hand away from the counter and held it tightly in his, offering her a warm smile. She looked so alone, so vulnerable.

"Come on," he said, "the party will be finished soon." Kirsten smiled back, squeezing his hand as she lent over, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, sweetie." She scooped up her glass of wine with her free hand and they moved through to the party again, a small sigh of relief escaping both of them as the guests began to leave.


	3. My Mistake

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He closed the door for the last time and turned round, leaning back against it to survey the damage left. Glasses, plates, bits of food, empty bottles and even more glasses were strewn around the house. And amongst it all, sitting miserably on the couch with her glass of wine was Kirsten.

"Hey," he said softly as he sat down next to her, adjusting his position so he was facing her.

"That went well, you know." She glanced round at him, nodding slowly.

"I guess so," she managed to whisper. Pouring the remainder of the wine down her throat she let her head rest on the back of the couch.

"I just wish…" she trailed off. Ryan knew exactly what she was thinking, as he finished the sentence for her,

"…that Sandy had been here?" He took her hand again, rubbing gently to try take away the icy chill that had set into her fingers. His hands were hot, and she gladly accepted the gesture. It couldn't stop her eyes from welling up though, and as she fought to push the lump in her throat away a tear forced a way out, rolling down her cheek. She brought her free hand up to catch it, but was beaten to it by Ryan's swift actions, his thumb seeming to effortlessly caress the tear away. She caught his hand as he brought it away and squeezed tight.

"Why do you think he's staying so late? 4 times in the past 2 weeks, Ryan." Her voice trembled as she spoke; already knowing what could be true, yet too afraid to say or even hear it.

"Well, he's just dedicated. It must be a big case they're working on." He couldn't turn to her and say that it was possible he was cheating; it would upset her so much he thought. Kirsten turned to him with a puzzled expression,

"They? His latest case is just him on his own, Ry. He said that yesterday." His eyes darted away from hers, down to the floor. Sandy had said 'we' on the phone. He was sure of it.

"Ohh…um…my mistake," he stuttered. The silence that followed was painfully uncomfortable. Kirsten rested her hand on his arm,

"Honey, it's not your mistake. It's mine."


	4. Where Dreams and Reality Collide

Under Ryan's instructions, the house was left to be tidied in the morning. He had walked her upstairs and told her not to worry, things would work out. With a weary nod she had agreed and said goodnight. With a little effort, she slipped out of her dress and into her silk nightgown, allowing her duvet covers to engulf her as she buried herself under them. At one point she stretched her arm across for a warm body next to her to comfort her, but of course, there was no one.

The poolhouse was warm, and Ryan kept the door slightly ajar to allow the fresh air in. There had been no sign of Seth returning home, and it seemed that this time he would get away with it. Kirsten was too caught up with her own problems to notice an absent Seth for an evening. Flicking off the bedside light, he sprawled out on the bed with a heavy sigh. This was something he couldn't fix, and he didn't like that.

She couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning, duvet cover off then back on, nothing seemed to work. She got out from the bed and wrapped herself in her gown, quietly padding downstairs and into the kitchen. She stood for a while gazing from the window, at nothing in particular. She didn't know what she wanted, and it seemed the window didn't hold any answers. The darkness of the poolhouse came into her line of vision and she found herself looking a little more intently at it. She could escape from things out there; it was separate from work, from husbands, and the Newpsies.

Creeping along the pool edge she slipped inside the pool house through the gap Ryan had left with the door open. He was sleeping peacefully, and she hesitated for a moment. What was she doing in here again? She shut her eyes and nodded. She was escaping. She often came out here, long before Ryan appeared, to relax and switch off from the world she lived in. And as she gently rolled herself under the covers, she glanced over at Ryan and reminded herself once more why she was here.

He never heard her come in, nor did he notice her slip under the covers. He was in a deep sleep, caught up in a dream. In his dream, he had confronted Sandy about what was going on at work. Sandy had made excuses, and eventually Ryan had snapped. He had shouted at Sandy, demanding the truth. And when the truth came out, he had punched him. Hard. Suddenly he found himself with Kirsten, having to break the news to her. She wept and clung to him for support; he stroked her hair and promised it would be ok, that he would never leave her; never let anyone hurt her again. He felt closer to her than ever before.

Still asleep, Ryan rolled over, his arm stretching out over the bed. But he was stirred by the object beneath his arm that wasn't there when he went to sleep. In a daze, he propped himself up and rubbed at his eyes as he muttered, "What the…" As his eyes began to focus and objects became clearer, the realisation of who was in the bed became clear. The slender figure, the blonde hair, the unmistakable expensive perfume. "…Kirsten?" Dream and reality had just collided.


	5. Escape

She had only been dozing, but all the same was startled at Ryan's arm landing on top of her. Slowly she turned over and nodded,

"Yes, it's me." She sat up and faced the silhouette of his figure; defined by his ruffled hair and broad, muscular shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep. I keep going over things in my head, and it just makes it worse." Her voice was barely audible, but Ryan made sure that he heard every word by breathing softly. He tentatively reached out a hand to her, resting it on her shoulder. This was different from the other times he had comforted her. Not only was the setting different, but the atmosphere between them was too.

"You don't have to apologise to me, Kirsten." He whispered back, his voice shaking slightly.

"Thanks, Ryan. Sometimes…people just need to escape. For some reason, I feel I can over here." Her voice was still soft, and he nodded back.

"I understand. I've spent my whole life trying to escape from people, from places and things. You know, we have much more in common than you would think. The kid from Chino and the Newport homecoming Queen both always trying to escape from something." She smiled and shuffled towards him, pulling him into a warm embrace. They stayed as they were for what seemed like hours, until Kirsten dropped her arms and brought her face round to meet Ryans. She was close enough for him to feel her breath on his face, and each further exhale of air afforded them a few extra seconds close together. Someone was going to have to move away, but neither wanted to break the enchanting spell hanging over them.

With one final lock of eyes, Kirsten recognised the time as now, and whispered,

"Escape with me then." Leaning in slowly, she pressed her lips to Ryans, her eyes closing as a wave of relief washed over her. Her action took him by surprise, but it was a pleasant one. He brought his hands up to cup her face as he returned the kiss, his tongue slipping inside her mouth, dancing with hers. He slid his hands through her hair, pushing her gown off her shoulders and allowing it to fall down to her middle. She was breathtaking, and he found himself struck dumb as he took her all in. She always looked so immaculate, and oozed a certain appeal wherever she went. Yet here she was now, virtually naked in his bed, and he couldn't even find words to describe her beauty. Actions would speak louder tonight.

Guiding her onto her back, he began tracing his hands across her body, his lips following with gentle kisses, making her skin tingle with anticipation of where they would touch next. She let herself relax into him, enjoying the way he kissed her, leaving no area untouched. When he was satisfied that he had covered her whole body leaving her skin with goose bumps, he moved back up and kissed her again, this time with more passion. His desire for her was immense, and with minimal encouragement he eased himself tenderly inside her. Kirsten gasped with delight, her hands firmly on his back as her perfectly manicured nails began to dig into him. His hands still wandered over her body, and her moans in response as he touched her in all the right places sent shivers down his spine. With one final thrust he pushed Kirsten over the edge of control; her back arched and he could feel every muscle contracting through her as she screamed out in ecstasy. He too found his body shuddering as he let out a deep groan, satisfied in the knowledge that were are both fulfilled.

As they lay in the bed, he draped his arm over Kirsten's body, keeping her close to him, protecting her. Both minds raced with thoughts, emotions and flashbacks, yet neither one spoke. There was no need. It had felt so right, for both of them. Here were two individuals, brought together by the demise of relationships with others around them, and who had found in each other a connection. And from the moment Kirsten had kissed Ryan, it had never felt uncomfortable, or awkward. It was a feeling that neither could describe, but wouldn't forget. They both fell asleep, content in each others company until morning.


End file.
